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I'm looking for a keypad to use in the external door of an small business office to open said door. The plan is to give every employee (around 20) a PIN that they input into the keypad for the door to open during work hours.

The thing is I haven't been able to find any keypad that offers the option of setting access times. I'm looking in the wrong place? Does anyone has a suggestion of what to look for?

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The term you're looking for is Access Control. – Niall C. Oct 26 '11 at 13:18

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The TimePilot 2930-R iButton Solo Door Lock looks like it will work for you.

enter image description here

You can set users up with a PIN, an electronic key, or both, and optionally restrict to time-of-day.

Another option is to use a regular RFID reader, such as the Visonic VXS-5 (there are a lot of these on the market):

enter image description here

Looking around quickly, I don't see any units that support time-of-day restrictions. However, you can then add a regular plug-in or hardwired timer that cuts power to the unit (or just to the door strike) based on time of day.

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I would imagine in the higher-end units (that support PC-based programming and can network several units together) you could find this feature, but the price goes up accordingly.

The downside is that this option means you'll have to use a physical key during the "off" times. The upside is fob-based readers like this are pretty easy to find, and extremely easy to program.

Note: I have neither used nor endorse any of these products.

I do think the TimePilot product seems like a better option though. It's probably simpler to install, and it's more functional (you can have codes/fobs that work at any time of day, and others restricted, and set up different restricted times for different people). The downside is programming time-of-day restrictions means punching in a ~30 digit code for each user.

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Understand that certain of these ACDs are designed for electromagnetic locks. When tripped, they cut power to the magnet allowing the door to open. If power is cut completely, the door will be unsecured. – KeithS Oct 31 '11 at 20:14
Most of these use electric strikes, which can be either fail-safe (unlocked) or fail-secure (locked) -- most are fail-secure. Magnetic locks are by definition fail-safe (unlocked), although some do have batteries that will allow them to continue operating in case of power failure. – gregmac Nov 1 '11 at 16:48
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Schlage has a Schlage Link line of locksets that you may want to check out. It offers remote security if you have a wireless network and an internet connection. The link below is for the Lever lockset starter kit.

http://link.schlage.com/Products/Pages/KeypadLeverStarterKit.aspx

Other options would be to search for locksets under "Home Automation".

Update: Below is a link to a gateway/controller with no monthly access fees (unlike the Schlage above). You would need to purchase either Schlage lockset and the gateway/controller.

http://www.micasaverde.com/vera.php

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Thanks for your answer. Something I forgot to mention is that we aren't looking for an integrated lever. What we were looking for was something more similar to this (amazon.com/gp/product/B003GGH1LG) form factor. The problem with that particular product is that it doesn't seem to allow (haven't been able to find its specs) setting access times. Also an Ethernet integrated system wouldn't hurt – Kiranu Oct 27 '11 at 2:41

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